Saturday, 10 April 2010

A certain level of anxiety is normal for most people but if you continue to worry it is impossible that you may have GAD or General Anxiety Disorder. This is a mental illness where a person will always fear the worst will take place and finds it impossible to relax. In other words, if you have been prescribed with General Anxiety Disorder, you are always worried even without any reason to be and feel tight all the time. Other symptoms of GAD are pains or aches and exhaustion without apparent cause.Once anxiety becomes chronic or severe, this may start causing some problems with every day living or activities. GAD may linger for months as a result normal life becomes hard for affected people. This mental disorder affects 4% of most population with women as the likely victims.Basically, worrying or anxiety is a normal reaction to a danger or threatening situation, imagined or otherwise. All people experience this during a stressful event. A bit of anxiety is normal and can even motivate a person to do his best and respond properly to certain risks.The exact cause of GAD has not been determined yet however, physicians have identified several environmental, cultural, biological and mental factors. Furthermore, there are studies supporting that this anxiety disorder may run in the family therefore genetic associations might be involved. Certain personality types may also become more susceptible to mental disorders. Other elements may contribute to abnormal anxiety such as a stressful lifestyle and excessiveness in drug or alcohol usage. Even medical conditions like hyperthyroidism, high blood pressure and diabetes can also lead to anxiety and GAD.GAD in severe cases can make normal living impossible for victims of this disorder because of the tendency to worry too much although there is no reason for this.The head of clinical psychology at Watford General Hospital, John Spector once mentioned that it is normal to become anxious about certain things like taking an exam but if a person constantly feels threatened and worry about small or insignificant things that daily living becomes affected then he or she may have generalized anxiety disorder.GAD may affect people who are in their late teens or in their early 20s but women ages thirty or forty are usually the ones who suffer most with this mental disorder.There are various treatments and approaches for this disorder but the most successful treatment is one that combines both psychopharmacologic and psychological methods.Prescription drugs although useful in the treatment of physical symptoms linked to chronic anxiety should be used as a treatment for a short period of time. This is so because the tendency for drug addictions runs high particularly for anti-anxiety drugs like Xanax.Another method for GAD treatment is psychotherapy which should work directly against a person’s anxiety. Relaxation technique is a part of treatment for most anxiety disorders including GAD. In case, these are not enough to control anxiety, your physician will incorporate other treatments such as hypnotherapy which involves hypnosis to control the constant worrying.

General Anxiety Disorder or GAD has become increasingly contagious in fact about 7 million adults in the US or approximately 3% of people age 18 years old and above have been diagnosed with this mental illness. The disorder usually affects adults who are 30 years old.In the UK, several surveys show that about two million people are affected with General Anxiety Disorder and this follows depression closely. On the other side, the World Health Organization announced that only 50% of these cases have actually been diagnosed.Awareness of this mental disorder, prompted people to ask what should be done for those who are affected with GAD. Dr. White, an expert in mental disorder, mentioned that they initially provide information regarding GAD for people who have this. He also noticed that the patient usually struggles with this disorder for several years. Furthermore, medical experts do not recommend the use of medication for the treatment of this disorder but cognitive behaviour therapy has been highly regarded as the solution to this dilemma.Cognitive Behaviour Therapy which many doctors consider as the best way to treat GAD is about recalling and analysing the thoughts of the patient. People with GAD are encouraged to evaluate his or her thoughts and perceptions about the world. Doctors foster patients to resolve their problems and challenges head on. The goal of this therapy is to modify the way people think. Furthermore, problem solving training will work for the best interest of an affected person because this gives them more control of the situation.Relaxation methods are also ways to alleviate the symptoms of chronic worrying and breathing control techniques achieve the same thing. To distract from worrying, other activities which promote relaxation are recommended. Despite these methods, only 50% of GAD victims were able to cure their condition, according to a research while the rest develop chronic anxiety.There is no exact reason why GAD exists however several psychologist blame this due to an unstable childhood. This disorder is not something that people should learn to tolerate or ignore because this may cause other mental disorders such as depression. This condition is too complex for people to cure by themselves hence professional help is required.For people who think that worrying has become a habit or a preoccupation or if they easily become to tensed over petty things and started experiencing symptoms of too much anxiety then they should seek the help of a medical professional or their doctors. The earlier that the disorder is diagnosed, the more chances there are of curing this condition and getting back on your feet again.Excessive suffering due to an anxiety disorder is not normal and should not be tolerated.If let untreated other complications may arise such as more mental illnesses including depression, regarding physical effects, victims of GAD often experience sweating and pain from the back of the head down to the shoulders and arms. Tolerating these inconveniences are out of the question, seek medical help as soon as possible.

Many people admit that they are worriers. They say this as if suggesting that the world is divided into three: the fussy people, the virtuous and the majority who are pretty laid back. If it we weren’t feeling a little worried, we probably would not be able to meet a deadline, catch a bus or pass exams however, this constant worrying over something can get out of hand.Anxiety can really get out of control. Just look at the people who are always worried about their health, job, money or anything that comes to mind, anxiety becomes all-consuming that it interferes with their daily lives and eventually cause a mental illness otherwise known as GAD or generalized anxiety disorder.GAD is a mental disorder that Psychologist cannot exactly define because it is so similar with the ordinary anxiety however this condition is happening abnormally and completely takes over an affected person’s life.One of the clinical psychologists at a Glasgow Health Center said that people diagnosed with GAD are anxious whether their illness is curable or not as well as how they will be able to pay for their loans. This sounds like an ordinary anxiety except that people with GAD are anxious about their worrying.In addition, they think about why a lot of things are on their mind and why they have no power to put a stop to it. People who have GAD are aware of what is going on and how things got out of hand however they can not do anything about this. Those who are rich continue to worry a lot about their money while men and women who are in good health ceaselessly agonize over deadly diseases. When they stop and look closer at their condition, they are aware that what they are thinking make no sense at all but they just can’t stop worrying.Apparently, these people who are chronic worriers may have GAD and are exhibitingsymptoms of this illness. Symptoms of generalized anxiety disorder include worrying too much, headaches, tightness and pain particularly in the back of the neck, heart palpitation, exhaustion.Normal worrying should not bring about these kinds of symptoms but for those with General Anxiety Disorder, the worrying always brings some painful questions. Moreover, physical signs like pain running from the shoulders to the arms as well as numbness, which are very similar with a heart attack may trigger huge anxiety. Restlessness, nausea, irritability, profuse sweating are other symptoms associated with GAD.There are doctors who were able to discover that GAD patients can work normally. This means for as long as they are busy with something, they will be able to do the job but once they get home or while watching TV, the constant worrying starts again and continues even when they recline in bed.In a nutshell, patients with GAD are no different from most people except that they worry too much. The anxiety becomes all-embracing that their lives are already affected which is not good.

Meditation is experienced as a spiritual practice in many cultures and religions. Through it and with the help of mindfulness and concentration, the spirit should gain control of itself and reach a state of calm. In Eastern cultures, it is considered as a fundamental consciousness exercise. The desired states of consciousness are commonly described as silence, void, panoramic awareness, being one, and being in the here and now or free from any thought.In Buddhism, Hinduism, and Jainism, the highest goal there is is enlightenment or reaching one's nirvana. In Christian, Islamic, and Jewish traditions, on the other hand, the goal of meditative practices is the immediate experience of the divine. In Western countries, meditation is often independent from religious or spiritual objectives, but is instead linked to psychological well-being.The range of meditation techniques is not very clear. Techniques differ depending on their traditional or religious origin, or on the different directions or schools there are within religions, and often also on the individual teachers in these schools.Meditation techniques can be classified into two categories, namely passive or contemplative and active. Passive meditation is practiced sitting silent, whereas the active type includes conscious movement or loud recitation (of a prayer for example).In the Christian tradition, there are different steps to meditating and contemplating. The Path to God usually starts with the study of the scriptures and with the prayer in words either spoken or recited in the head. Then comes the representational approach, wherein one concentrates on less objects and observes them repeatedly and then leads on to recite the prayer of peace.In mindfulness mediation, Zazen and Vipassana are the best-known passive forms of meditation from the Far East. These two forms have lots in common. For one, the meditator sits in an upright posture and respects the harmonious relationship between tension and relaxation. In many Western meditation schools, the basis of these practices is total consciousness towards the spiritual, emotional, and physical phenomenon that is happening at that moment. Furthermore, both schools teach the non-judgmental and unintentional awareness in the here and now, without clinging to thoughts, feelings, or perceptions.Dance can, like in some Far Eastern-inspired forms of meditating, be a part of the preparation for the actual meditation. In the Oriental tradition, for example, the Dervish dance in Sufism which is a part of Islamic mysticism is a means of preparing for meditative contemplation.Many schools use rhythmic sounds and music to facilitate meditative practices. In Christianity, the sounds used are especially chorales as taken from the Gregorian. Furthermore, praying the rosary in Christianity and reciting the mantra in Buddhism and in Hinduism have similar meditative aspects.Regular meditation has a very calming effect and is recommended as a relaxation technique in Western medicine. The effect, in turn, which is a meditative state, is neurologically measured as a change in a person's brain waves. Lastly, scientists also listed the following components belong to the meditative process: relaxation, concentration, altered state of awareness, suspension of logical thought processes, and maintenance of a self-observing attitude.